


A Little Help

by secretsshared



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Babies, F/M, Family, Flashbacks, Fluff, Kid Fic, Pregnancy, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-13
Updated: 2014-06-15
Packaged: 2017-12-29 08:04:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1002971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsshared/pseuds/secretsshared
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint and Natasha have decided to move in with the rest of the Avengers to Tony Stark's Tower with their daughter, Maya Barton. They decide to do it for the benefit of her but soon realize that maybe this will help them a little bit too...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moving Day. Or Moving Morning

“Daddy?” Maya turned in her small bed before lifting her head up from her pillow. “What are you doing?”

Clint turned around and looked at his four year old daughter. She was still sleepy eyed and barely awake. Her red curls were all over the place and her teeth were chattering a little. He shoved another bundle of her clothes into the suitcase he had before walking over to her and picking her up. He watched Maya grasp her blanket and wipe her eyes as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“We’re going to go live with Uncle Tony for awhile. Is that okay, darlin’?” Maya didn’t answer, her eyes closed and her small body leaning into her father’s chest. Clint sighed and shifted until one arm held Maya and the other was used to continue putting clothes into the suitcase. When he felt as if he had enough, he rolled it out into the small hallway and made his way back to his and Natasha’s room.

She stood in the middle of the room looking over piles of clothes on the bed. Her eyes caught Clint’s and her heart melted a little as she saw her exhausted daughter in his arms. “Do you want me to take her?” He nodded his head and slowly handed her over to Natasha. Maya stirred for a quick second and then wrapped her small arms around her neck.

“Mommy, why are we going to Uncle Tony’s?” Her voice was soft and sleepy and her eyes were still half open.

Natasha looked over at Clint with a small glare before kissing the top of Maya’s head. “Go back to sleep, ребенок . We can talk about it in the morning.” Her daughter gave her a soft nod before shutting her eyes again and letting her mom wrap her blanket around her body. When she was sure she was asleep again she whispered to Clint, “I thought we weren’t going to tell her anything until she woke up at Stark’s.”

“She woke up as I was packing her clothes. Tony could have picked a better time than the middle of the night for us to move in.” He stopped folding clothes and looked at Natasha. “Besides, she mostly knows what happened. She’s smart enough to figure out why we’re...leaving.” He walked over to the two of them and brushed the small child’s cheek and returned to the bed where he started to pack the piles of clothes into another suitcase. “It’s been a couple of months since then. We had warned her things would change.”

“But she doesn’t know that it will impact her this much,” Natasha retorted, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I’m just worried that she won’t be able to evolve to everything going on.”

Clint nodded and zipped up the suitcase. The press constantly wanting to know the Avengers’ next move, the missions hitting both of them every couple of weeks, and protecting their daughter through all of the madness was starting to get a little overwhelming. He kneeled in front of Natasha and brushed a hair out of Maya’s face. “Moving in with the rest of the team can help us, Tasha. I thought we already discussed this.”

“We did, we did.” She looked down at him and gave him a small smile. “I’m just nervous.”

“Don’t worry, babe, moving in with four other superheroes will definitely make you less nervous. They’ll be ready to kick the ass of whoever’s trying to hurt any of us.”

Natasha’s ears perked at his choice of language and she lightly slapped his arm. “Little ears are still in the room, Barton.” A crooked smile came across his face and he got back up on his feet and kissed her lightly.

“All right, I’m gonna go check and see if it’s okay to go out to the car.” He grabbed the suitcase and rolled it out of the room. Natasha could hear the other one as well before she heard the apartment door close. She looked down at Maya again and rubbed her back. Clint was right. They would be safer staying at Tony’s, right? Even Fury had agreed that this would be a better choice for them. They would have a bigger space then the one they were using here at SHIELD’s Headquarters. They would have four other babysitters that could easily protect their daughter. Not to mention Maya would have more space to roam around, or all the space Tony would let her have. “Just breathe,” Natasha murmured to herself. Everything will be okay.

****

After a couple hours of packing up the car, a long drive down the back roads of the city and a quick stop to McDonald’s for a bite to eat, the two agents finally arrived at the Stark Tower. Maya, who was mostly awake by this time, tried to wriggle out of her mother’s tight grasp.

“Maya,” Natasha huffed, “we need to make sure Tony is ready to let us in.”

Clint yawned from the driver’s seat and turned around to see both of his girls fighting against each other. He smiled and looked down at his phone which was lighting up with a message from Tony himself. “I think he’s ready.” He read the rest of the text which informed him that JARVIS would take care of the car and that the coast was clear for them to make their way into the Tower. He unbuckled his seat belt and made his way outside of the car and opened the door for Natasha.

Maya jumped out of the car first, happy to be walking again. She splashed into a puddle causing the bottom of her blue nightie to be stained with mud. Natasha groaned but let out a small smile to see her daughter’s excitement. Maya would be happy here. “No more splashing, Maya. You can barely see out here.” She quickly looked down at her watch, the dim light of the numbers 1:45 AM showing. “Honestly, why are we moving in so early?”

“Because what paparazzi would want to wake up this early to catch the Avengers team moving in a couple of secret agents?”

Clint and Natasha looked up to see Tony, Bruce, Thor and Steve standing by the entrance of the Tower, a cocky grin spreading across his face. “Welcome home.”

Maya ran up to the men first and jumped on to Thor’s leg, her favorite thing to do these days. “Uncle Tony, Daddy says we’re living with you for awhile. Is that true?” Tony gave the child an awkward pat on the head and smiled. “Yes, it is.”

Clint wrapped an arm around Natasha’s waist and led her over to the group, giving them all a slight nod and handshake. “You ready for some fun, boys?”

Steve laughed and picked Maya up from Thor’s leg. “I think we could all use some sleep first before we let the fun and games start.”

Bruce yawned and asked Natasha for the time. “Yeah, I’m gonna go back to sleep. Tony, wake me up when you start playing around in the lab.”

Thor gave him a funny look. “Since when do we play around in labs?”

“Since he moved in, Point Break.” Tony nodded toward the Tower. “I’ll give you guys a tour later on today. Your part of the Tower is on the second floor. I already have a room for the little tike. She’s allowed everywhere EXCEPT the lab. That is my baby and I don’t want her getting hurt.”

Steve clapped a hard free hand on Tony causing him to wince slightly. “Don’t worry, Stark, I think your “baby” will be okay.”

Natasha smiled gratefully at Steve and took Maya from him, receiving a noise of disappointment from her. “It’s 2 in the morning, dyetka. I promise you can play later on today.” She kissed her softly on the cheek and ordered for her to try and fall asleep in Russian. Maya murmured something back to her mother. The men looked at them as they tried to figure out what they were saying to each other.

Clint shrugged. “Don’t ask me. They do this all the time.”

“Okaaaay then, it’s time to go inside and get some sleep.” Tony motioned for everyone to go inside. Steve, Thor and Bruce all went in behind him, but the two assassins stayed behind out in the quiet lit city.

Clint looked at Natasha with a smile. “You still think this a good idea?”

Natasha looked down at Maya who had her eyes squeezed shut. “I think it’s the best for now.”


	2. Learn a Little

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of Natasha and Clint's new home life.

Natasha woke up with Clint’s arm tight around her body. She squirmed until she was facing him. He was still dead asleep, having the bed head to prove it. She snaked an arm out of his grasp and ran it through his hair as she leaned into him to plant a soft kiss on his lips. He smiled and murmured something she couldn’t understand. 

“What was that?” she asked. 

“I smell coffee,” he grunted, his eyes still closed. 

“Mmm, someone is ready for breakfast,” Natasha murmured with a sly grin. 

Clint finally opened his eyes and nodded. Her hand was still running through his hair and he groaned. “Are you trying to come between me and the most important meal of the day?”

“Maybe...”

He found all the energy he could as he slowly rolled on top of her and began to nibble on her neck. “I guess I can stay away for ten minutes. I just discovered I’m hungry for something else.”

Natasha laughed and matched his lips. “Just ten?”

Clint shook his head. “Okay, fifteen.”

**********

They didn’t end up coming downstairs for another forty five minutes, both of them still dressed in their pajamas. Natasha entered the kitchen first and stood next to the barstool where Maya was sitting. Steve was close behind the child with two arms out, making sure she wouldn’t fall over at any moment. Maya turned around in the chair as she felt the presence of her mother. Before she could stand up in the chair, Natasha caught her and cradled her. 

“Don’t give your Uncle Steve a heart attack, Maya,” she told her as she gave her a quick squeeze. 

“Sorry, Uncle Steve,” Maya said with a toothy smile. Natasha put her on the floor and watched her run over to Clint who picked her up and sat her up on his shoulders. 

“How did you sleep, darlin’?” he asked as he walked them over to the refrigerator. 

Maya poked his head and giggled. “Really good!” 

“Really well, sweetheart,” Natasha corrected from the island as she sipped at some coffee. 

Maya ignored her and continued to talk. “Uncle Bruce made lights that let me pick whatever color I want them to be. Last night they were purple. Tonight I want them to be red so they match me and Mommy’s hair!” She tapped on her dad’s head twice before flipping off of his shoulders and hitting the ground perfectly on her feet. 

Steve watched in horror as she scurried over to Natasha and climbed the chair into her lap. “Did she just- Clint, do you just- Is she okay?” He looked ready to pass out. 

“Relax, Cap,” Clint said from the fridge. “She learned it from her Mom. Unless Natasha says something, I just leave it alone.” He pulled out some milk and poured some in a cup for Maya. He slid the cup to her and downed his cup. “I’m going to go take a shower,” he announced and left the room. 

Steve continued to look at Maya. It took an idiot not to realize that she was Natasha’s. They shared the same dark eyes and radiant crimson hair. Even the way they acted created the fact that they were a part of each other. Natasha chose to stare straight ahead at the coffee pot, her eyes not wavering at all. Maya looked down at her milk with a gaze that could send you to your knees with its intimidation. Steve’s trance finally broke when Natasha set down her coffee mug and started braiding Maya’s hair. 

“Where is Tony, Steve?” Natasha asked. 

“He and Bruce are most likely down in the lab right now,” he answered before walking over to the coffee pot to get his own cup. “Why?” 

“He’s supposed to give us a tour of the tower!” Maya interrupted. 

“Mai, I’m trying to talk to your Uncle,” Natasha scolded. She finished plaiting her hair and pulled a pony tail holder out of her own hair and put it in Maya’s to hold the braid. “How about you go and try to find Uncle Tony for mommy?” 

Maya’s face lit up and she jumped out of her mom’s lap and ran out of the room. Natasha watched her carefully turn around the corner and then looked back at her coffee. “She understands what happened in New York, Steve. Well, as much as she believes she understands. ” 

Steve gave her a confused look but quickly realized who she was talking about. “We, uh, figured as much.” 

Natasha finally looked up at him, her eyes a little glassy. “She doesn’t really understand what happened to Clint. We just told her that he wasn’t feeling like himself.”

The soldier paused before asking his next question. “And...Coulson?”

“He’s on a much extended vacation.”

Steve nodded and sat down on a stool next to Natasha. “Do you think this is really fair to her, Natasha? I mean, she has a right to know what’s going on. We all know, except for her that you’re not just staying with us for fun.”

She nodded and looked back down at her mug. “We, Clint and I, both knew something like this would happen if we decided to keep her. We just didn’t believe it would be when she was this young, too young to not understand everything.” She took a breath. “I don’t know what’s fair for her right now. All I know is that we have to keep her safe. Bringing her into this world was more than hard enough. I’m willing to keep fighting to keep her here.” 

Steve wanted to ask what she meant but instead smiled and grasped her hand. She didn’t even flinch. “Natasha, I know that a mother’s bond to her child is the strongest bond between two people. Don’t worry too much. The rest of the guys and I will be sure to keep her safe.” 

Natasha let a tear slip and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. “Thank you so much.” 

“No problem,” he murmured. He slowly pulled away from her and wiped her cheek. “I’m going to go hit the gym with Thor before lunch. You want to come join us?” 

She shook her head and got up from the chair. “I think I’m just gonna go get an extra couple hours of sleep. When Maya comes back up can you tell her to come to our room?”

Steve nodded and left Natasha alone in the room. His head spun with multiple questions, but he figured they would be forgotten by the time he and Thor started sparring. 

***************

Tony and Bruce looked down at the small pipe and the hole that they were supposed to be putting it through. They had no idea where it was leading in the contraption only that it was supposed to be hooking up to something else. 

“No, no, you have to keep putting it on the right, Tony!”

“No! It’s obvious it has to be in the middle, Bruce! How else is the connector supposed to have the energy flow?”

Tony groaned and laid his head down on the table. He felt a slight tug on his shirt and waved his hand at Bruce. “Leave me alone, Banner. I’m too exhausted to be intelligent right now.” He felt the tug once more and whipped his head up.

Bruce stood next to him with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. “It wasn’t me!” 

Tony gave him a look and looked down to see his niece staring back at him with big gray eyes that matched her father’s. He was about to get mad but quickly remembered who her parents were. “Maya, what are you doing here? Who let you in?”

Instead of answering, Maya stood on her tip toes and looked at the contraption they were building. “Uncle Tony, Uncle Bruce, have you tried moving it to the left?”

“Maya, that’s not the answer to the question I asked. Where are your paren-” 

“Wait,” Bruce interrupted, “Tony, she’s right. We haven’t tried the left yet.” He picked up Maya and sat her on the table and looked at the machine. He moved the pipe to the left like she suggested and watched the light on the machine slowly start to glow. 

Tony stared at the machine and then looked at Maya. “So easy a four year old could do it,” he finally muttered. 

************

“And this is your room, as you know,” Tony said. “You already spent most of the morning in it.” Clint shot him a look that could kill. “Relax, Barton, I’m just messing with you.”

“Whatever, Stark.” Clint crossed his arms and leaned against the wall but let his face relax a little. “Thanks for the rest of the tour.”

Natasha smiled and picked up Maya who was starting to trail behind them, distracted by the giant fish in the fish tank. “Thank you for everything, Tony.”

Tony shook his head. “There’s not much you can thank me for. Pepper would have my a- butt if I didn’t let you guys in anyway. By the way, she should be heading home in a couple of days. She misses her niece.” He led them back to the living room where the rest of the men were lounging and took a seat. Thor and Steve were watching the credits of an ending movie and Bruce was looking over some instructions of another machine. 

Clint sat down on a free part of the couch and Natasha sat down next to him, Maya still in her arms. She looked down at her daughter whose eyes were starting to close. He let out a soft laugh to see Maya asleep again. “It’s only three o clock. Is it okay if she’s sleeping again?” 

Natasha nodded and stroked her cheek. “I think she’ll make it. You can stay up with her tonight if or when she decides not sleep.”

“I can stay up with her if you want,” Thor offered, distracted from his movie. “Back at my home-" 

“We’ve heard enough stories about your planet that can last a lifetime, Thor. Let’s leave it for tonight.” Tony huffed and returned his gaze back to the movie. 

“Thanks for the offer, Thor, but I think we’ll be fine tonight.” Natasha gripped Maya a little tighter and rose from the couch. “I think I’m just going to go take a nap with her.” She said her goodbyes and gave Clint a soft kiss. 

By the time she had situated Maya and herself in the bed, Natasha couldn’t even close her eyes. All she could do was stare at her. She began to sing a soft Russian lullaby. “Maya Anzhelika Barton. My little чудо.” 

Maya could hear her mother’s voice and she slowly opened her eyes to look into hers. “Mommy?”

Natasha pressed a warm hand to her cheek. “Yes, baby?”

“How long are we staying with Uncle Tony?”

Natasha sighed and pulled her daughter closely to her body underneath the covers. “I don’t know, Mai, but I know we’re going to be safe here. I just know we are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> чудо (miracle)
> 
> Yay, new chapter!!!! Tell me what you think. The next one should be up as soon as I can, but not as quick as this one, sadly... :( Don't worry, I will find a time! Oh, just to clarify, this fic is not related to my other ones at all. I had a question about that. Again, thank you so much for reading!


	3. Monday Morning

Clint, Natasha and Maya had been staying at the Tower for two weeks and everything was starting to fall into place. Each of them had their little routine which made Natasha very happy. All three of them would wake up around 7 am, go for a walk (or run as Maya usually made it to be) around the city until they stopped at a small coffee shop for breakfast or would head back to tower and eat there. They would be back to the tower around 10, giving Clint and Natasha plenty of time to spar as Maya watched cartoons or would have a lesson with Bruce or Tony. By 11 or 12 it was lunch time for the girls while Clint would pass out somewhere on the couch. Natasha liked Maya to have a quick nap around 2. By the time her daughter woke up around 4, Natasha would be making dinner with Bruce and Steve. Even Thor would come and experiment in the kitchen. Around that time for Clint he would be with Tony down in the lab. Tony was happy with a test subject to try out some of his new arrows he had created. Maya would either be watching her dad shoot some arrows or helping her mom and Uncles make dinner. After dinner, the whole group would pile on to the couch to watch a movie or discuss their past missions. When it hit 9 o' clock, Clint or Natasha would take an exhausted Maya to her room and then retire to their own, getting energy to start the day over again. 

Natasha woke up at the same time she did everyday; 6 am. This morning was a little different though. Her stomach had felt queasy again and the headache she had just gotten rid of from the past few days had decided to come back. And on top of all that, she had barely slept last night. Natasha shook her head and heard the bathroom door click and saw Clint come out fully dressed, clean shaven and his hair looking a little damp. He looked down at her exhausted stage and smirked. "Stay up too late last night?"

She cracked a small smile, being known to not be the happiest of people in the morning. "No, I went to bed around 11, I'm not feeling very well."

Worry crossed Clint's face as he sat on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on her cheek. "Oh, I'm sorry, babe. Do you still want me to take Maya out?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Natasha said, leaning into his touch. "I think I'm just going try and get a couple more hours of sleep. Just make sure you're back in time for her nap."

"Do I ever miss it?" he asked with a grin. 

"You always did when I was out in the field," she answered with a raised eyebrow. "I had to call from the other part of the world to remind you."

"Oh yeah, but I quickly made up for those...” Clint murmured as he slowly leaned into Natasha’s pursed lips. 

“I really don’t remember how you made up for those,” Natasha answered with a soft purr. “How about you remind me?”

Before they could “discuss” their topic any further, an excited Maya ran into the room and jumped on the bed. "There is no time for kissy face, guys! I'm ready for breakfassst!" Clint pulled away from Natasha and held in a laugh when he saw his daughter’s large gap in her mouth. Her left front tooth had fallen out just two days ago. Natasha had been worried that it had come out at such a young age, but Clint knew his daughter would be special. 

Maya scrunched up her nose and looked down at her mom. "Why are you not dressed, Mommy? We always go out on Mondays.”

Natasha sat up in the bed and gave Maya a sad smile. "I'm going to stay in this morning. I'm not feeling too well, detka." 

Maya gave her a small pout but quickly recovered and gave her mom a kiss and a quick hug. “You better feel better when we get back. Uncle Tony says Aunty Pepper is coming today!” 

Natasha looked over at Clint who gave her a nod. “She’s right. Pepper should be here by the time we get back.” Maya started tapping her dad’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Okay, okay, we can get going, darlin’,” he muttered before getting up and making sure she was secure on his back. He leaned down to Natasha’s ear. “I’ll be sure to remind you later,” he whispered before exiting the room. 

***************

Clint put his hands in his leather coat pockets trying to block away the cold. It was the middle of April and it had rained last night, a lot more than he expected it to. Maya didn’t seem to mind though. It gave her a perfect excuse to wear her yellow rain boots, matching yellow rain coat and hat that Pepper had bought her for her birthday. The streets were deadly quiet for it being such an early Monday morning. Maya loved the openness of the street and ran ahead of him and jumped in every puddle she could find and began to sing. 

“Three little angels all dressed in white!  
Tryin' to get to heaven by then end of the kite  
Well the kite string broke and down the all fell,  
But instead of going to heaven they went to –“

“Maya!” Clint cut her off and stared at his daughter who turned around and laughed. 

“I was going to say bed, Daddy. Mommy always tells me not to use the potty words.” She turned back to the puddles and started humming.

Clint stared at her and then shook his head. “Who taught you that song anyway?”

Maya squatted and looked down at her reflection in a puddle. “I heard some girls singing it when Mommy took me to the park last week. It’s not that hard to memorize. I can teach you it if you want.”

“Uh, that’s okay, Mai.” Clint gave her a smile and walked toward her, picking her up from the muddy puddle. He always felt bad when she talked about younger kids. With their lifestyle he knew it would be hard for her to make friends. How do you explain to another kid that your parents were master assassins and traveled the world- and others for that matter- fighting crime to save everyone?

He looked down at her now stained brown rain boots, coat and jeans. “Mai, what’s your mom going to say when I bring you home?”

Maya tapped her pointer finger on her chin and thought about her answer. “I’ll tell her that you were jumping in the puddles and got me wet!”

Clint scoffed and stole her hat from her head, revealing the mess of red curls that it was hiding. “Fine, no breakfast for you this morning then!” He started tickling her and laughed as she began to squeal. 

“Daddy! Daddy! Enough, I’ll tell Mommy the truth!” she squealed. 

Clint set her back down on the ground and took her hand in his. “Okay, darlin’. What do you feel like eating today?”

Maya scrunched her nose and sniffed the musty air. “I want a pretzel!”

Copying her face, Clint smelled the air and had the perfect aroma of pretzels hit his nose. “I’ll tell you what, you lead the way, Mai, and I’ll buy you a pretzel.” This was the perfect time for him to teach her how to use her directions. 

She stopped to think about his proposition. “Deal, let’s go, Daddy!”

It took them less than ten minutes to find the cart and less than one to find a park bench to sit down and enjoy their “breakfast.”

Clint dipped his pretzel into the cheese cut and took a big bite. Maya stared at him and made a disgusted face. “Daddy, that’s gross.” 

“Actually, eating it plain tastes gross,” he retorted. 

Maya stuck out her tongue at him and started to kick her feet back and forth. “Daddy?”

“Yeah, darlin’?”

“Nothin’.” 

Clint bit into the last of his pretzel and grabbed a napkin out of his pocket and wiped his face. “What did you want to ask, Maya?”

“Nothing,” Maya repeated. “I just like saying Daddy.”

“Oh.” Clint stared ahead at the street that had yellow taxis beginning to flood it. “Maya?”

“Yes, Daddy?”

“Nothing.”

Maya looked up at her dad with a confused face. “What were you gonna ask, Daddy?”

“Nothing,” Clint answered looking down at her. “I just like saying Maya.”

*************

Natasha looked around the living room and started to worry about how quiet it was. Bruce, Steve or Stark should be around by now, she thought to herself. Thor had left for some important “gathering” in Asgard and wouldn’t be back until the end of the week. She pulled the blanket off of her body and threw on one of Clint’s sweaters. By the time she got to the kitchen her stomach had started to feel worse and the headache was hitting harder. Leaning against the kitchen counter, Natasha shut her eyes and tried to breathe. What the hell was going on? She had just started to reach for a cup of tea Clint had left her when she heard small footsteps coming up the stairs. 

She turned her head to see Pepper dressed in a blue pant suit with a pile of papers in her hands. “Natasha!” she exclaimed, and hurried over to the couch to drop the papers and then quickly ran over to the agent for a hug. 

If it were anyone else, Natasha would have pulled away from the hug, but she leaned into her friend and relaxed. By the time she dropped her arms, Pepper was behind the island making herself coffee. “Just let me get some of this really quick. I told Tony I would be home later, but he was sweet enough to book me an earlier flight. Geez, Natasha, you look great, really! Have you been working out? Of course you have, what am I thinking?”

Natasha smiled and let Pepper talk. Obviously she seemed tired but it was always nice talking to her, or having her talks most of the time and Natasha listening. “I’ve been great, Pepper. Clint and I have really loved staying in the tower. It’s been nice staying so close to the team. Even Tony-“ She was cut off by the loud sound of a boom and a “BRUCE!” come down from the lab. 

Pepper sighed and walked over to the wall and pressed a small button on the wall. It took two seconds before Tony and Bruce were running up the stairs with a tired looking Steve walking behind them. 

“Pepper, you’re back!” Tony said with a sheepish smile. He elbowed Bruce and muttered, “Nice job, buddy. I’m not getting anything for the next week.”

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I heard that, Tony." She paused and looked at all three of them. "We'll talk later, boys. I need to catch up with Natasha.” Pepper murmured. She gave Tony a quick kiss and Bruce and Steve hugs and watched as they escaped back down to the lab. She motioned for Natasha to come sit next to her on a bar stool so they could talk. "Finally, a little peace and quiet," she sighed as she shifted into the stool. 

Natasha let out a soft laugh and started to get up on the stool when a sharp pain hit her stomach, causing her to double over and hit the ground hard. The soft cries of Pepper calling for Tony, Bruce and Steve flooded her head which worsened the headache. She let out a moan and felt her body explode with sharp pains that felt like pins run up and down her body and her throat closed up as if someone was beginning to choke the life out of her.

“Pepper?” she managed to say. “Help me.” Those were the last words she was able to get out of her mouth before blackness took over her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness, it took me forever to write this chapter!!! Sorry for that, but school and sports have been driving me absolutely insane! I liked writing this one but I'm already excited for the next chapter. It's already in the works!!! ****DON'T WORRY, NATASHA IS STILL ALIVE*** So as usual, tell me what you think in the comments! Good or bad, I love reading what you guys think! It's good enough knowing people are reading! Also if I need to edit something, tell me! I'm TERRIBLE at editing my own stuff! Again, thanks for reading!


	4. A little game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya and her Uncles get some alone time. Well, from each other.

“Okay, boys, this is how it’s going to work. Tony, you’re taking upstairs. Bruce, you take the basement. Thor and I will stay on the main level. Keep your eyes open. Do not fall for her tricks. Remember, she is a lot more dangerous than she looks. The main initiative of this mission is to-“ 

“Cap, I hate to interrupt you, but you do realize that we’re trying to chase down a four year old, not a criminal.” Tony started to get up from under the kitchen table when Steve grabbed his arm. 

“Tony, this is serious. Natasha may be sick but that doesn’t mean she won’t hunt us all down for not getting Maya to bed on time.”

Thor nodded his head in agreement with Steve and crouched down. It didn’t help much considering his head was brushing the top of the table. “Steve is right. We need to do this for Lady Natasha. Her daughter needs her rest in order to see her mother tomorrow.”

Bruce sighed through his nose. “Who has the pajamas?” 

Thor raised a hand with a purple onesie. “I have them.” 

Steve looked at his watch around his wrist. “Okay, according to Pepper, we have all night to catch this kid. She’s staying at the hospital with Clint and Natasha and they’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

Tony scoffed. “This’ll be easy then!” He crawled from underneath the table and started toward the stairs. 

“Stick to the plan, Stark!” Steve called before heading off to the living room. Thor crawled backward from under the table and followed him. Bruce yawned and lingered to the basement stairs. 

It was going to be a long night. 

******************

Exactly two hours and eighteen minutes later, the clock had hit 10 and the four superheroes still hadn’t managed to find Maya. They had checked every inch of the house, each room more than once. Maya ordered JARVIS not to tell her uncles where she was, making the mission practically impossible. Everyone was starting to worry because even Tony had started to get a little frazzled. 

“MAYA!” Thor boomed for the fourth time. Tony, Bruce and Thor followed his lead and began to call out her name in the house. They trailed behind Steve who had stopped abruptly in the hallway leading to the living room. 

“Did you guys hear that?” he whispered. 

“Hear what, Steve?” Tony cried. “For all we know that rug rat probably already found her way to the hospital!” 

“Shut up, Stark, I hear something.” Steve motioned his head toward the living room. A soft sniffle echoed from the room. “She’s in there,” he whispered. “Thor, do you still have the pajamas?”

“I DO!” Thor boomed in excitement. The men shushed him quickly. “I do,” he whispered. 

All right, boys, this is it.” Steve held a finger to his lips and with the other pointed toward the living room. “On my count,” he whispered. “One....two...”

“THREE!” Tony yelled as he ran into the living room to find an upset looking Maya sitting on the couch. She wiped her eyes with a small fist and looked up at her uncles. 

“Hi,” she murmured. She tightened the small blanket around her and shrugged her shoulders. “You finded me.” 

Bruce took a step toward her first and sat down on the floor in front of her. “We found you,” he agreed. 

Thor sat down on the couch and pulled her into his lap and began to put her into her onesie. “And where were you hiding, little one?”

Maya rubbed at her wet eyes again. “I was underneath the couch the entire time. You guys forgot to check.” 

Tony, who was still standing in the living room entrance with Steve, slapped him lightly in the chest. “Nice going, Capsicle. We could have had her hours ago.” He walked over to the couch and sat down on the left of Thor. 

Steve was the last to make his way over and sat picnic style next to Bruce. “Why are you crying, Maya?”

Maya lowered her head until her curls covered her face. “I’m worried about Mommy,” she admitted. 

Bruce spoke up first. “Maya, even though you’re scared that doesn’t mean you should run away from us. You gave us all quite a scare.” 

This caused Maya to stifle a sob. “I- I didn’t mean to make you guys mad. It’s just- ju-j-j...I want Mommy!” 

Thor frowned and began to rock the child in his lap. “We’re not mad at all, Little Maya. We were just scared.”

Steve reached over and lifted her chin and smiled. “Don’t worry, Mai, your mom is going to be just fine. And trust me; trust all of us, when I say we’re not mad. I think we can all even agree that this wild goose chase was pretty fun.” 

Tony snorted and Steve shot him a look. “Yeah, Cap’s right,” he swiftly agreed. “Good workout.” 

Maya gave them all a small smile and leaned into Thor. “When are Mommy and Daddy coming home?” 

Bruce shifted on the floor and yawned. “They should be home in the morning according to Aunt Pepper.”

She sniffled and looked at Steve. “Daddy always tells me a bedtime story before I go to bed.” She then looked up at Thor with big puppy eyes. “And...sometimes he heats up some milk for me.” Her eyes shifted to Bruce. “And then he gives me a cookie to have good cookie dreams.” Finally she turned to Tony. “And when I really can’t sleep he brings me to Mommy and she sings me a Russian song.” 

All the men looked awkwardly at the ground, not really sure what to believe. Maya hid a sly smile and sniffled. She had them right where she wanted them. 

“Maybe we can just make popcorn and watch a movie?” Bruce suggested. 

A couple of “yeahs” and one “okay” quickly followed the idea. Ten minutes later they were all huddled on the couch with Toy Story lighting up the room. Maya sat in the morning with Steve and Thor on her left and Tony and Bruce on her right. She was the first one to fall asleep, pieces of popcorn sticking in her hair. Tony was beginning to nod off when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Careful not to wake up Maya, he sneaked his hand into his jeans and pulled it out to see a message from Pepper. “Woah.”

Bruce looked over at him, distracted by the small light. “What is it?”

Thor and Steve looked over at Tony with newfound interest. “Tony,” Steve whispered, “is that Pepper?”

Tony nodded and shut off his phone. “JARVIS,” he murmured. 

“Yes, Sir?” the AI responded. 

“Prepare another room for Clint and Natasha.” 

"Right away, Sir."

Bruce sat up and gave Tony a weird look. “Why would they need another room? Clint told me that you had given them more than enough space.” 

“I thought I did too,” he said. He was quiet for awhile before he read the text again. “How would you boys like it if we played a LOT more rounds of hide and seek? Or continued with the kid movies?”

Steve yawned. “Enough with the riddles, Stark. It’s too late to try and figure them out. What are you trying to get at?”

“Yes, I am not understanding either,” Thor sighed. 

Tony turned on his phone and read over the text once more before announcing “Natasha’s pregnant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! This chapter was a little easier to get up! Discordchick, you were right! Have a good rest of the weekend, everyone! And as usual, thanks for reading!! :D


	5. Big News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A second child could bring a whole lot more...

Pregnant. 

Natasha placed her second hand on her stomach and looked at it. The smallest bump had formed and she was still surprised she had never noticed. A second child quicklywould expand the bump even further. A second child. 

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted juice or tea so I got you both,” Clint said as he walked into the hospital room with the two cups. His heart was beating erratically but it relaxed when he saw Natasha moving her hands up and down her stomach with a smile across her face. “Amazing, isn’t it?” he whispered.

She waited for him to sit down before she replied with a soft “yes”. The doctor told her that she was already two months along, hitting three in two weeks. She hadn’t gained much weight, but the pregnancy did explain the pain in her stomach from lack of food and headache and nausea she had been feeling. “This is all so much. I don’t know what to say,” Natasha admitted.

Clint put the cups down on a small table next to the bed and placed a hand on one of hers that was roaming her stomach. “Natasha, we’re going to be parents to a second child. I don’t know what else to say other than I’m the happiest man in the world right now.” He moved his hand up to her neck and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I love you so much, Natasha.”

“I love you, too, Clint.” She sat up, leaned into him and met his lips for a soft kiss. She let her lips linger for a little bit longer than she should have but soon felt him pull away. 

“I think we have surprise visitors,” Clint murmured. Just as he turned his head to the door, the whole team walked in including Pepper carrying Maya who was asleep. 

Tony’s face had a devilish grin on it. “Were we interrupting something?”

Clint shook his head and gave Natasha a funny look. “No, I was just getting ready to join Natasha on the bed but I’ll be sure to do that later.” 

Pepper rolled her eyes at Tony and Clint’s pestering with each other. “I’m sorry if we were intruding. Little Maya didn’t want to spend another minute away from her parents and I saw visiting hours opened around nine earlier this morning.” 

“No, it’s absolutely fine,” Natasha said as she slowly sat up in the bed. “Can you bring Maya over here, Pepper?”

“Do you think that’s a good idea, Natasha? Are you sure you’re not in any pain?” Pepper asked as she handed Maya over. 

“I just found out I’m having a baby, Pepper. I’m feeling anything but pain now.” Maya squirmed until she was relaxing into her mother’s body. Natasha pulled the small scrunchie out of Maya’s hair and began to braid it, something she knew Maya loved for her to do when she was asleep. "So I guess the news is out there that I'm pregnant."

Tony, Bruce, Steve and Thor all nodded. “Congratulations to you both,” Bruce said with a smile. He nudged Steve who realized he was holding a bouquet of flowers. “This is for you.” 

Clint took the flowers and set it on a table closest to Natasha next to the juice. “Thanks, guys. We’ll be sure to bring these back to SHIELD.” 

“What do you mean back to SHIELD?” Steve asked, moving toward a chair to sit down. 

Natasha finished a small plait in Maya’s hair but ran her fingers through it and began to redo it. “You didn’t expect us to stay did you, Steve? You guys have already done so much for us; we can’t expect you to put another child into the picture and ask for more.”

Pepper looked like she was about to burst out in tears. “Of course we do! I stayed out of my niece’s life for almost five years. By god, when Tony came home with news that you and Clint had a child together, I lost it! Out of all people, I was the one not to know. And to find out that she’s four years old... Natasha, Clint, in all respect, I will not let you leave the  
Tower. You both, all three of you, mean too much to all of us.” 

Tony gave Pepper a soft kiss on the cheek. “She’s right, you know, as always. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I would love to bring another rug rat into the Tower. It’s no big deal. I already have JARVIS fixing up another room. I’m sure the rest of the guys and I wouldn’t mind getting a little dirty trying to paint it and set up a crib.”

Thor laughed and clapped a hefty hand onto Tony’s shoulder, causing him to wince. “Yes, as you say here, the more the merrier!” The loud boom in his voice caused Maya to whine in her sleep and turn her head to face away from everyone. 

“Careful, Big Guy,” Steve warned. “We don’t want to have another adventure like last night’s.”

“What happened last night?” Clint asked. 

Bruce shifted on his feet. “Let’s just say we hope your next child won’t inherit the hiding gene from their mother.” Steve and Thor nodded in agreement while Tony let out a nervous laugh. 

Natasha looked at Clint who shrugged. “Well, you won’t have to worry about that for another six months.” His eyes shifted to the wall clock. “We’re out of here in about twenty minutes. If you guys want we can meet you back at the house.”

Pepper wiped away loose tears and smiled. “We’ll have lunch ready by the time you’ll be back. Did you want me to bring Maya with us?”

Natasha shook her head and kissed her daughter’s head. “I want a couple of minutes with her. Clint, can you go and check me out?” 

Steve stood up and motioned toward Clint. “I’d, uh, actually like to go with Clint if that’s okay. I need to get my legs moving again.” 

Tony wrapped his hand around Pepper and turned to Thor and Bruce. “Let’s head out.” They were out the door minutes later leaving Natasha and Maya. 

“проснуться ребенка,” Natasha cooed. (Wake up, baby)

Maya whimpered but opened her eyes. “Mommy?”

“Hey, baby,” Natasha murmured. “I missed you.” 

Maya put her head back down on her mother’s chest and looked up at her. “I missed you too, Mommy. Are you hurt?”

“No, Mai, Mommy was just feeling a little sick. I feel a lot better now, though.” She played with Maya’s finished braid and smiled. “So, do you care to tell me what happened last night?”

Maya’s eyes grew wide and she let out a fake yawn. “Nothing at all, Mommy, I’m actually starting to feel a little tired. Can we talk about this later?”

“How long is later, Maya?”

“Never.” 

Natasha sighed. “Maya Anzhelika...”

“Okay, okay, I hid from Uncle Tony, Uncle Bruce, Uncle Steve and Uncle Thor. Then I got upset because they didn’t tell me a story like Daddy or heat up milk or give me a cookie for good cookie dreams and they didn’t sing me a Russian song like you do!” Maya sat up on the bed, a pout on her face and her small arms crossed on her chest. 

Too bad the attitude problem comes from me, Natasha thought to herself. “Maya, you’ve spent the night with your Uncles before. What was so different about this time?” 

Maya put her bottom lip back in and uncrossed her arms. “I thought you and Daddy went on a mission and didn’t tell me. I thought you got hurt, Mommy.” 

“ребенка, your father and I haven’t been away in months. You know we tell you that we’re leaving before we go somewhere and when we’re coming back.”

“I know,” Maya murmured. “It’s just...Uncle Phil said the same thing and I haven’t seen in forever.”

Tears stung Natasha’s eyes and she grasped her daughter’s small hands in her larger ones. “Maya, I- I thought- Uncle Phil is on a vacation, remember?”

“When is he coming back?”

“I don’t know,” Natasha answered honestly. She knew for a fact that Coulson wasn’t dead. Everyone knew he had escaped to a place where he didn’t want to be found. If anything, Fury had to do something with it and would eventually let her and Clint in on Coulson’s whereabouts. She didn’t say anything for awhile but then squeezed her daughter’s hands. 

“I promise if we go see Director Fury then I’ll ask. How does that sound?”

Maya finally showed a smile and nodded. “I would like that very much.”

“I thought you would,” Natasha said. “But first you need to apologize for last night.”

“I’m sorry, Mommy.”

“Don’t apologize to me, Maya. You need to tell your Uncles you’re sorry.” 

“Okay,” she said with a small smile. She didn’t say anything for awhile, instead scrunched up her lips and looked down at their hands. “Mommy, what does pregnant mean?”

Natasha placed their hands on her stomach and nodded with a grin on her face. “It means that a baby is growing inside of Mommy and in six months you’re going to have a little baby brother or sister.”

Maya started to bounce. “I’m going to be a big sister?! Do I get to tell my baby brother or sister what to do?”

“Not when they’re young, baby. They won’t really know what you’re saying.” 

Her smile disappeared. “Can they hear me right now?”

Natasha laughed, happy to see her daughter so excited with the news. “If you say nice things to the baby, yes, they’ll be able to hear you.” 

Hearing this, Maya placed her right ear on her mom’s abdomen. “Hi, baby, this is your big sister, Maya. I can’t wait for you to come out. Then you’ll get to meet Mommy, Daddy, Aunty Pepper and all our Uncles. You might even get to see Mr. Fury but he gets cranky really easily.” She waited to hear a response but nothing came back. “I don’t think the baby likes me.”

Natasha held back a smile when she saw Maya’s dead serious face. “The baby won’t react to your voice for awhile, dyetka. In a couple of months when they hear you then they might start kicking.” 

“Did I kick hard, Mommy?”

“Yes, you did,” Clint answered from the doorway. He was carrying a bag of clothes that Natasha figured Pepper had given him. Steve was right behind him with a wheelchair he knew Natasha would refuse to use. “I remember the first time you kicked your mother I had my head on her stomach and you kicked me right here.” He pointed to his right eye. “I had to lie to everyone and say that I got the black eye in training.”

Maya laughed and crawled out of the bed and jumped into her Steve’s arms. “Did you know I’m gonna be a big sister, Uncle Steve?”

“So I’ve heard,” Steve replied. “I don’t think I have to ask if you’re excited.” With one arm he held Maya carefully and rolled the wheelchair out of the room with the other. “We'll be outside,” he managed to say through Maya’s excited chatter.

“So I’m guessing Maya took the news well,” Clint said with a chuckle. He could still hear her down the hall telling someone her good news.

Natasha slowly started to get out of the bed but stopped when Clint came over and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Clint, I’m fine,” she assured him with a smile, but didn’t notion for him to move his arm. “Are you going to be this nervous for the next six months?”

“Not nervous, just cautious,” Clint said, his grip starting to loosen as he helped her put his sweatshirt on. 

“Pretty sure that’s almost the same thing.” She was able to slip out of the hospital gown with the sweatshirt over her body. By the time she was in comfortable yoga pants and sweatshirt, she was leaning against Clint. “This baby is taking the energy out of me. I need some food in me NOW.” 

Clint laughed. “Maybe I should carry you to the car.”

“Don’t push me, Barton,” Natasha argued. “I’m not too tired to put up a fight.” 

“I believe you,” he said as he threw up his arms in surrender, “just don’t pass out again. You scared the hell out of me when Pepper called.” He placed his hands on either side of her waist. “Promise me you’ll tell me whenever you feel the slightest bit weird when you’re pregnant with this child?”

Natasha looked up into his bluish gray orbs and placed her palms on his cheeks. Slight stubble brushed her hands causing her to shiver. “Promise,” she whispered. 

“All right,” he said with a soft kiss and gentle squeeze on her waist, “let’s get you home.” 

*********** 

The ride back was quicker that Natasha had thought would be. Maya had fallen asleep on the way back to the Tower and Natasha figured all the baby talk had worn her out. But by the time they pulled into the garage she was up again and asking questions about the baby. What they looked like, if their hair was green and even the dangerous one; where did the baby come from? Clint laughed at this one and said it was the perfect question to ask Uncle Steve. This rushed Steve out of the car and into the Tower while Clint helped Natasha out of the car. 

“Mmm, I can smell the food,” Natasha moaned as she stepped into the Tower with Clint, Maya close behind them. 

“Where’s Aunty Pepper?” Maya asked. “She said she would let me read her a story when we got home.”

As if Pepper knew that she was being summoned her head quickly popped from around the corner. “Perfect timing, you guys, lunch is ready! Maybe after we eat we can read, Mai.” 

Maya squealed and jumped into her Aunt’s arms.

“Maya Anzhelika, you have to stop doing that to people!” Natasha scolded.

Pepper scoffed and squeezed her niece and set her back on the ground. “It’s no problem, Natasha. She weighs less than a feather.” 

Maya turned around and faced Natasha. “That’s right, Mommy! I’m small and light with feathers, just like a birdie. I’m a birdie just like Daddy!” 

Clint chuckled. “That’s right, darlin’! You’re our little bird.” 

Maya turned her attention towards Pepper again. “Is Mommy’s baby going to be a birdie too, Aunty Pepper?” 

Pepper’s face lit up even more at the word baby. “I don’t know, sweetie. That depends on your parents.”

“Speaking of birds,” Steve interrupted from the doorway, “every animal needs food to stay strong, so how about we get ready for lunch?” 

Natasha moaned and nodded. “Yes, please. That hospital food doesn’t contain a pregnant woman for more than an hour.”

They all quickly made their way into the dining room where the food, plates and utensils were already set up. Natasha saw that Bruce had made enough pasta to last her a month. Or a week depending on how the pregnancy would change her. Aside from the pasta there was also bread, salad and fruit bowl. 

Bruce was the first to come out of the kitchen with Tony behind him. “Did you guys do all this for us?” Natasha asked, trying to keep her voice even. 

“We did,” Bruce replied. “Even Tony helped.” 

“Yeah,” Tony muttered, picking at a band-aid on his thumb. “Never again will I use that sharp utensil.” 

“You mean a knife?” Clint said with a laugh. “Damn, we’re going to have to make you cook even more if you don’t even know the names of things in the kitchen.” 

Before they could start bickering, Pepper walked over to Tony and gave him a kiss. “I’m so proud of you for attempting it,” she murmured. “Maybe if you help the rest of the guys do the dishes later than I might just reward you.” This news made Tony stick his tongue out at Clint.

“Where’s Thor?” Natasha asked, ending a fight that hadn’t even started. 

“Thor went to go see Jane,” Bruce answered as he straightened a fork on the table. “He said he would be back later tonight.” 

Natasha nodded and sat down, Clint on her left and Maya on her right. She reached for the salad first and demolished two plates, not even looking at the pasta. She waited until everyone had gotten a plate before taking two large helpings. The conversation around the table mainly circled around by the time she was finished, she had eaten enough for her, the baby and a family of four. 

Maya looked up at Natasha and laughed. “Mommy, you ate so much! How are you going to eat dinner tonight?” 

“Remember, the baby has to eat as well so Mommy’s eating for two people.” Clint explained. 

“Oh.” Maya yawned and stabbed at a grape with her fork. “I need a nap,” she soon announced. 

“I think some quiet time will do us all some good.” Pepper looked at Natasha and smiled. “You boys can handle the table, right?”

Clint looked at her and nodded. Natasha gave Clint’s hand a soft squeeze and pushed herself away from the table. “Thank you again, Bruce, for lunch.”

“I helped!” Tony called to Natasha as she Pepper and Maya made their way out of the dining room. 

Pepper decided to make a stop in the kitchen to make a cup of coffee for herself and a cup of tea for Natasha. Maya insisted on having one more glass of milk to help her go to sleep. After they all had drinks in their hands they went to the living room and sat next to each other on the couch where Maya curled up against Natasha and attempted to stay awake for the conversation.

After a couple of minutes Natasha heard steadied breathing come from Maya. She slowly took the glass of milk out of her daughter's hand and then turned her attention to Pepper. “I have a confession to make."

“What is it?” Pepper asked no judgment in her voice. 

Natasha pulled a blanket from behind her and put it over her Maya’s small body. “I’m worried about bringing another child into my life. There are just so many things that keep coming up in my mind. We have so many enemies for one thing. Clint and I already have our hands full with one kid, not to mention, I’ve heard birthing a second child is worse than your first and it was hard enough the first time...” She took a deep breath and tried to relax. “I don’t feel like my worrying is fair to Clint, Maya, or any of you because everyone is so excited and I’m a nervous wreck.” 

Pepper let out a sigh and laughed a little. “Natasha, you have every right to be worried. I don’t know what it’s like being a mom but from what I see from most moms it can be scary, tiring and hard. But when I watch you I forget about all those things because you make it look so easy.” She took a breath, took a sip of coffee and looked down at Maya. “She’s so lucky to have you in her life, Natasha. You’re the perfect mother to her. I know for a fact that you’ll be a great mom to this second child just like you are to your first.”

Natasha’s eyes were glossy at this time, touched by the words Pepper had said to her. She had never known a woman as strong as her so by letting Pepper into her life was one of the best things that had ever happened to her. “Thank you so much,” Natasha managed to say, trying to keep her voice steady. “You, Tony and all the guys mean so much to both Clint and I and we couldn’t ask for any other people. Thank you again, for everything.”

Pepper set her coffee on the small table in front of them and wrapped her arms around Natasha, startling the agent a little but soon had her relaxing into them. “Always, Natasha. We’ll always be there for you.” 

A clearing of the throat interrupted the two women from their moment, turning their attention to the doorway. Clint stood there with his arms by his side and an upset look on his face. 

“What’s wrong?” Natasha asked, feeling her chest start to tighten. 

“I just got off the phone with SHIELD,” he answered as his arms crossed across his chest.

“And..?” 

“Director Fury is calling in the Avengers again. And he’s expecting ALL of the Avengers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOODNESS! I can't believe I was able to get this chapter updated! I would just like to say that I've been trying to update this story but the last couple of months have been insane and stressful! Thank you for keeping up with me! By the way, Happy New Year to my readers (and all you new people!) If you're like me, stay warm in the North! 
> 
> I plan to get more into Maya's back story in the chapters to come so keep up with me if you can! Chapter six should be updated soon enough with more characters being introduced! Also, I didn't have time to edit this chapter as much as I wanted but I will go back and do so ASAP.


	6. Decisions, Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> News for the team comes with a decision for Clint and Natasha

“No.”

“Yes.” 

“No.” 

“C’mon.” 

“I said NO.”

“Natasha,” Clint whined. “It’s three weeks, babe. Three weeks!” 

Natasha huffed and crossed their bedroom room, not even looking at him. “That’s the thing, Clint! Three weeks! You know how Fury works. Three weeks can turn into three months and three months into a whole year.” She remembered exactly what their Director had told them during the video call. 

_They were all standing in the media room of the Tower. The room was dark except for the faint blue light reflecting from the video call with Director Fury. Natasha stood in the front. Clint stood close behind her, his hands lightly resting on her waist. Fury stared at the team in front of him with a serious facial expression._

_"You’re being sent out to Spain in less than a week. We have a strong idea that HYDRA may or may not be hiding WMDs around a small area in Madrid. We need you to be present, find out more information and take out any enemy agents. The mission shouldn’t take more than two to three weeks.”_

_Ten minutes later Fury had still continued on with other information regarding their assignment. Natasha could hear the team around her asking questions and murmuring facts to each other but she just couldn’t focus in. Her mind roamed to the destruction of the city, Clint’s controlled blue eyes, watching innocent civilians fall to their death. Loki. Natasha tried to keep her expression relaxed but her heart was racing. She started shifting from foot to foot. Fury must have seen her movements and felt her tension because he turned his focus to her through the screen._

_“Romanoff, is there something wrong?” Natasha looked up at her Director with an expressionless face._

_Clint looked at Natasha before turning his attention back to Fury. “There isn’t anything wrong, Director, unless you look at it that way.”_

_Natasha looked down at her hands. Bruce, Thor, Steve and Tony were all standing behind her but she could feel their eyes gaping into the back of her head. Fury sighed through his nose and leaned back into the chair. His facial expression was lighter as well as his voice._

_“Natasha, care to explain what Barton is trying to tell me?” She looked up and opened her mouth but was unable to speak._

_Clint’s hands gently tightened around his waist as he spoke up for her. “In all due respect, Sir, I don’t think it’s a good idea for Natasha to come on this assignment with the rest of us.”_

_Fury’s right eye grew as his nostrils flared. “And why Is that, Barton?” “Natasha’s pregnant.”_ __

  


Clint began to undress as he made his way to the bathroom. “Natasha, you were there. No more than a month. That’s exactly what he said.” When he came out he was clad in only a pair of blue and green plaid pajama bottoms. “We knew this would happen soon enough. It’s not like one of us wouldn’t ever be asked out in the field again.” 

Natasha had slipped in one of his shirts to sleep in, but still wasn’t feeling any comfort. Her eyes roamed across Clint’s chest before settling them back to the ground. She couldn’t look him in the eyes. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she told him. 

“Don’t go to bed mad at me, Tasha,” Clint pleaded, stepping toward her and landing a kiss to her temple. “I’m not mad,” Natasha murmured as she gently pushed him away and slipped into the bed. “I just don’t want to talk about it anymore.” 

Clint knew there wouldn’t be any more talk after that so he went to the corner and flipped the lights off. He carefully made his way to the bed and climbed in. “Night, babies,” he whispered in Natasha’s ear. 

*** 

When Natasha opened her eyes the room was slightly illuminated from the moonlight coming in. She turned in the bed and saw the clock’s numbers light up with 3:02 am. Realizing that she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again, Natasha turned in the bed to tell Clint that she was going to go down to the living room and watch TV but found the bed empty next to her. She sat up saw the bathroom light was on behind its closed door. She kicked the covers and approached the bathroom door, hearing Clint’s heavy breathing become louder with every step. She knocked once, warning him before entering and shutting the door behind her.

Clint turned toward Natasha with heavy eyes. His body and hair were wet with a damp towel wrapped tightly around his waist. “Hey,” he murmured as he took a step toward her. “I...I was just getting ready to go wake up Maya to go on a walk.” 

“At three in the morning?” She turned and looked at the clock before turning back to him. Natasha stared at his chest and crossed her arms. “You haven’t woken up this early since Loki’s-”

“Don’t say his name,” Clint pleaded. He turned to the double vanity, squeezed the edges and shut his eyes. “Please don’t say his name.” 

Someone once told Natasha that the only time a person could tell if you were scared was if you told them. Through the entire experience of New York Natasha was unable to tell anyone she was scared. They were fighting a god and his army of aliens. She had to fight while she left her daughter in the care of SHIELD agents she barely knew. Of course she knew this mission was just a deal with an enemy agency and both she and Clint have completed them before, but she was scared. And he deserved to know that. Natasha took another step toward him and placed her palms on his waist and her left cheek between his shoulder blades. “I’m scared.” 

“What?” Clint lifted his head and opened his eyes but didn’t move to turn around. 

“I’m scared,” Natasha repeated. There was a long pause for awhile, maybe two or three minutes before Natasha heard the soft words “me too.” “What?” She lifted her palms and cheek from Clint’s back and waited for him to turn around. 

“I’m scared too,” Clint confessed, turning to her and placing his palms on her cheeks. “I’m terrified. I’m frightened. I’m worried, anxious, and nervous. Natasha, I’m afraid.” He pressed their foreheads together in a gentle embrace. “I don’t want to lose Maya, I don’t want to lose this child and I don’t want to, and will not, lose you.” He took in a deep breath and then continued. “Loki’s gone and I know that but I still feel weak. And don’t tell me that I’m not. I won’t know that I’m strong myself unless I do this. Two weeks,” he sighed. “That’s all I’m asking for.” 

Natasha took in a deep breath and pursed her lips. She made sure her voice would steadied and relaxed as if she was reading the newspaper to him instead making telling him one of the hardest decisions she would make. “Three weeks. And I swear, Clint, if you even dare to ask me for a couple of days after that I will make sure that you never see the light of day every again.” 

Clint swallowed and nodded his head. “Three weeks, promise.” He leaned down and gave her a long lingering kiss. “Thanks so much, Tasha.” 

“I didn’t really have a choice,” she confessed when she pulled away from him and left the bathroom to go back into the bedroom. “Fury wouldn’t have accepted to babysitting Maya Friday night if I had said no.” Clint followed her into the room  moments later with his pajama pants intact. “We have plans Friday night?”

Natasha slipped into the bed with a sly smile on her face. “We better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh!!! First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting in FOREVER!!!! Pretty sure it was longer than six months... :( My schedule was just piling up! I hope to post another chapter by the end of the month. Thanks again to all the readers and people who leave comments and kudos! I appreciate you all so much! As usual, kudo, comment, tell me if I have any mistakes, any suggestions, and questions. I love hearing your thoughts! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I finally found some time between the heavy classes and relaxing to write this! I want it to be a series but I don't know how much I'll be able to update. Tell me what you think in the comments. Good or bad, whatever it is, I'd love to hear!


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